2004 Year In Review

12/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

ARCHIBALD ALL-TIME KILLS LEADER

In Indiana's match against Kent State (9/17) at the TIS Bookstore Invitational, senior outside hitter Christina Archibald etched her name into the Hoosiers' record book. Archibald drilled 26 kills, breaking former Hoosier standout Melissa Brewer's mark of 1,547.

PUTTING IT AWAY - THE .300 CLUB

Senior Katie Pollom continued to prove her offensive prowess for Indiana. She finished the season with a hitting percentage of .306 to become only the fifth Hoosier to close out a season with over .300 hitting. Amanda Welter set the program standard in 2000 with a .338 clip, while Melissa Brewer accomplished the feat twice with a .312 in 2002 and a .311 in 2003. Diane Hoereth posted a .304 in 1989, while Julie Flatley recorded a .303 in 1995.

1,000 REASONS TO LIKE POLLOM

Against Texas-Arlington (9/11), Katie Pollom became the 11th member of the Indiana volleyball 1,000 kills club. The senior from Indianapolis entered the all-time top 10, with her 11 kills against Penn State on Oct. 9.

WELCOME TO THE 400-BLOCK CLUB

Against Northwestern (10/16), Katie Pollom became the fifth member of the Indiana volleyball 400 total block club.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

Following a 20-kill and 21-dig performance against Wisconsin (11/27), senior Christina Archibald picked up her ninth double-double of the season. The senior garnered eight double-doubles in 2003 and ended her illustrious career with 36.

Additionally, after recording 20 kills against Wisconsin, Archibald reached the 10-plus kill mark in 71 of her last 78 matches, including a 21-match skein that ended with eight kills against Illinois on Sept. 25. Dating back to the start of the 2002 season, Archibald only missed the 10-kill plateau nine times over the last three seasons (94 matches).

SUCCESSFUL SEASON OPENERS

12 up, 12 down. The Hoosiers improved to a perfect 12-0 in season openers under Head Coach Katie Weismiller after defeating IUPUI in four games (30-23, 28-30, 30-25, 30-20). In its 30th season, Indiana has compiled a 23-7 record in season-opening matches. IU's last loss in a season-opening match was a three-game sweep at Kentucky on Sept. 4, 1992.

TEXAS TWO-STEP

For the second consecutive tournament, IU garnered a second-place finish at the Texas-Arlington Invitational (9/10-11). The Hoosiers downed Arkansas-Little Rock and Houston, 3-1, before falling to Texas-Arlington, 0-3, in the final match of the tournament.

The previous weekend, Indiana finished second at the IU Credit Union Invitational (9/3-4). After scoring a sweep of Murray State, the Hoosiers fell to eventual champion Saint Louis in the second match. Indiana came back strong with a sweep of Oregon State in the finale, closing out the tournament with the same 2-1 record as Saint Louis. The Billikens picked up the championship due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

HOOSIER HONOR ROLL

Katie Pollom was selected to her third all-tournament team in three events at the TIS Bookstore Invitational. The honor comes on the heels of the Texas-Arlington Invitational, where Pollom and Christina Archibald were named to the all-tournament team. Pollom recorded 39 kills (3.55 kpg) to go with nine blocks (.82) and six service aces. Archibald posted 37 kills (3.36), 29 digs (2.64) and four blocks (.36).

Pollom and freshman Lauren Ditteon were selected to the all-tournament team at the IU Credit Union Invitational. Pollom was dominant at the event, leading the Hoosiers with 46 kills while hitting a .439. The Indianapolis, Ind., native also added one block solo and seven block assists. Ditteon chipped in with 26 kills, averaging 2.89 kills per game and eight block assists.

HOME SWEET HOME (CENTURY MARK)

With a Sept. 3, 3-0, win over Murray State in the IU Credit Union Invitational, Indiana claimed its 100th triumph in the University Gym.

ARCHIBALD PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN

Indiana senior outside hitter Christina Archibald was selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team. Archibald is one of 12 players on the team from nine different league institutions.

AFFOLDER ARRIVES IN BLOOMINGTON

Matt Affolder, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University, is in his first season as an assistant coach at IU. Affolder's main responsibilities with the Hoosiers include handling the team's travel arrangements, equipment, video breakdown and on-court instruction. He is no stranger to the state of Indiana, as he is a native of Decatur. Affolder served as a coach for the Munciana (Muncie, Ind.) Volleyball Club for seven years (1993-99), where he coached former Hoosiers Nikki Hill and Hillary Toivonen.

POSTSEASON RECAP & HONORS

POLLOM NAMES ALL-BIG TEN HONORABLE MENTION

Indiana University volleyball standout Katie Pollom was selected honorable mention All-Big Ten on Nov. 30. This marks the second time the senior has been recognized by the conference after being named honorable mention in 2002.

The Indianapolis, Ind., native concluded one of the most successful careers in IU history as the fourth-best blocker with 379 block assists, 63 block solos and 442 total blocks. Additionally, she finished her collegiate play with the sixth-best kills (1,350) and hitting percentage (.259) in the Hoosiers annals. Meanwhile, the middle blocker finished her career as only the fifth Hoosier to close out a season with over .300 hitting after connecting at a .306 clip this year.

HOOSIERS MOVE INTO CAREER RECORD BOOKS

Several Hoosiers etched their names into the IU record books following the 2004 season. Senior Christina Archibald eclipsed Melissa Brewer's kill mark with 1,808 career put-aways, while also placing fifth on the dig chart with 1,028. Additionally, Archibald moved up to sixth with 116 service aces, seventh with 248 block assists and tied for seventh with 276 total blocks. Meanwhile, Katie Pollom improved to fourth in block assists (379), block solos (63) and total blocks (442), while jumping into sixth with 1,350 kills and .259 hitting percentage. Tasha Arsenych also vaulted into seventh with 1,469 assists.

CREAM AND CRIMSON IN SINGLE-SEASON ANNALS

Five members of the 2004 volleyball squad earned spots in IU's single-season annals as Christine Nilles snared second on the freshman class dig chart with 332 saves, while Juli Pierce placed third on the same list with 330 digs. Katie Pollom picked up a pair of entries with fourth in hitting percentage (306) and seventh in kills (447). Additionally, Tasha Arsenych finished in sixth with 1,330 assists and Mandy Eberle moved into eighth with 106 block assists. Meanwhile, Christine Nilles improved to 10th with 332 digs.

ADDITIONS TO THE IU SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOK

Kills: Katie Pollom (447, eighth)

Assists: Tasha Arsenych (1,330, sixth)

Digs: Christine Nilles (332, 10th)

Block Assists: Mandy Eberle (106, eighth)

Hitting Percentage: Katie Pollom (.306, fourth)

FRESHMAN SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS

Digs: Christine Nilles (332, second); Juli Pierce (330, third)

ADDITIONS TO THE IU CAREER RECORD BOOK

Kills: Christina Archibald (1,808, first); Katie Pollom (1,350, sixth)

Assists: Tasha Arsenych (1,469, seventh)

Digs: Christina Archibald (1,028, fifth)